In the remaining farmland, and townscape we hope to plant trees, groves and hedgerows to create a tree rich landscape for the woodland to nestle within.

By planting new native woodland the forest should become a biodiversity hotspot for woodland on the island, but the benefits of Ramsey Forest will be for people as well as wildlife:

Recreation opportunities will increase as we open up access to more woodland, particularly government plantations. We will make some woodlands more accessible through better paths to create nature trails, a running track, mountain bike access and hopefully create a new National Glen.

We will enhance and improve the existing landscape by planting more parkland trees along the Lazayre road, planting native woodlands on the lower scarp slopes of the hills and planting trees in parks, gardens and along the streets of Ramsey Town.

We will reach out to all the community to get involved and benefit from the forest by involving children, putting in access for people with mobility problems and inviting organisations to hold events and activities

A key part of the new forest will be to encourage economic regeneration. Some of this will be through the increased trade that will come from more visitors, some through new craft, forestry and recreation business and some will simply come because the Ramsey Forest area will be an attractive place to invest.

There will be lots of other benefits too. New woodlands will help mitigate floods. Carbon will be locked away, mitigating climate change. More people exercising will make a healthier community and woodlands are a superb local educational resource.

Get involved!

We will rely on volunteers to plant trees, create footpaths, organise events and fundraise.

We need community groups to help us design recreation infrastructure and local businesses to sponsor us. We need landowners to allow us to plant trees on their land, be it a garden or field.

Living Landscape projects have been set up across the British Isles. Living Landscapes are projects designed to reconnect nature across the landscape to create robust ecosystems where nature can move and flourish.

Latest news:
Get the latest news on the Ramsey Forest project through our series of regular newsletters downloadable below